Entering into season number 12 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, tight end Mercedes Lewis has seen it all. When he joined the club, the team’s 12-4 record the previous season allowed them to select him with the No. 28 overall pick in the draft.

Though the team has been below .500 for going on a decade, Lewis’ was present for an 11-5 campaign in 2007 that featured a dominant running back named Fred Taylor, who earned a Pro Bowl invite. That year, the balance of run/pass with Taylor and quarterback David Garrard complimented a competent defense to form an overall well-rounded team.

According to Lewis, the Jags have found their next great one-two punch in incumbent starting QB Blake Bortles and dynamic rookie Leonard Fournette.

“I think we have a great scheme in place for him to come in and just plug and play,” Lewis told NFL.com. “And I think he’s going to fit great with our offense. He brings back that old-school feel, like back when we had Fred Taylor, and we were able to run the ball, possess the ball, play-action pass, take shots down the field. It’s going to help Blake, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Lewis says that he had high expectations in place for the rookie out of LSU, but that so far, even those have been exceeded.

“Originally, when we drafted [Leonard Fournette],” continued Lewis, “I thought he was going to be one of those guys that really would show up when we put pads on, but this guy is fast. He’s big, has good footwork and great vision, and he’s doing all of that without even having pads on. And you know what type of runner he is when he does have pads on.”

Fournette has always been known as a bit of a workout warrior, as he turned in a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the combine while weighing 240 pounds.

For a veteran like Lewis, the young guns like Fournette and Bortles may give his Jags’ one last hurrah before he hangs up the cleats for good.